The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-06-12
Printed bD Special Arrop0eent Copyrighted 1857.
THE EMILY BRAND BtIGlNTINE
HER STRANGE STORY.
ny ANDREW nUssEY ALLEN.

not that its principal events are to be found re
corded in the correspondence of the Department
of State, at Washington, and in the officia
renorts of the vice admiralty court, at Gibral
TAR both OF which sources of verfcation are,
have nodoubt, accessible to the reader. have
myself seen the dispatches Of our consul al
Gibraltar, and can vouch for their substantial
correctness have often wondered why they
have never been published, but, for some reason
better known to the department than to me,
they have been left to be forgotten among the
dust covered archives.
/ therefore now present the facts for what they
are worth. have no theory to PROFOUND.
am not aware that possess the gift of 'sscond
sight" icertainly 90 not "beieve in ghosts"
am not spiritualist; not tneosophist, but-in
spite of myselt-still skeptic. can only hope
that the reador-a deeper student of the occult
sciences than I-may devise some satisfactory
explanation of the power that produced the key
to the otherwise insolvable mystery of the
Emily Brand"
was at Nice. where had been sent month
parlier, q tardy and restless convalescent, when,
on the morning Of Nov. 90 found among my
letters at breakfast one from my old friend. Jack
Drayton, dated two days earlier "On board the
Nomad, Marseilles harborD and begging me to
no for a cruise to the Azores with him. His fell
low-voyagers, he wrote. had deserted him at
Malta to go crusading to Jerusalem with some
friends they had met there, and he urged me to
20 this cruise with him, well on account
of my health on his account
called on my doctor who agreed with Dray
ton that the voyage would set me squarely on
my feet again, and as / knew Of nothing l would
like better / decided to 60. l packed my
4 trunks, took the early train for Marseiles and
boarded the yacht on the afternoon of the next
! day at o'clock, and by the following morning
we were under way
The Nomad was a schooner of two hundred
and thirty tons. stanchly built for ocean cruising
. and luxuriously equipped and furnished. Be-
Fides the captain, two mates. steward cook and
Jack Drayton's servant she carried of
seventeen men. Her owner himself
fable seaman" and his yacht was his home. He
and were such old friends and had lived to-
gether for many years that not only did
not fear firing each other but were reasonably
sure of very good company. On this occasion,
however, we htd companion In Roy,
thoroughbred English mastiff that
Drayton. who 'sas very fond of ami
mails, had taken to sea with him for the
two preceding years. I never had appreciated
before this cruise how much of a companion
dog could be- Roy quite won my heart I'm
prejudiced by my affection for him, think he
was the noblest animal / have ever known.
Stately, high-breo. intelligent and lovable, he
was "a gentleman and a scholar" from the jet of
his handsome muzzle to the tip OF his tawny
iail.
We ran down the Mediterranean to the straits
with a fair, fast wind, feeling, as we passed the
age But outside, the ocean, Eolus
became capricious, as is his won't, and
bestowed his favors elsewhere. From that
lime on until the 9th OF December we lotered
sadly and uneventfully, with light northeriy
winds. On the morning of that day, however,
the breeze freshened somewhat, the smooth sur
face of the sea began to glitter with little rppes,
our spirit rose with the prospect, and soon after
9 o'clock sighted a sail about three
points off the port bow-the only thing in sight
the broad expanse OF blue shining ocean. By
noon we had approached the stranger
enough to soc that she was brigantine under
short sail, and in little while we were within
hail TakIn- OIL T ma ha hor
out to be smart-looking and beautifully mod
eed craft. and after a few minutes I read the
name in gilt letters on her quarter as Emily
Brand" Except her lib and a staysail she had
-na- a. stitch Of canvas set As looked she ini
pressed me with a sense of deathlike stiffness,
desolation and mystery. and could see that her
wheel was loose and that there was no one on
her dock. The slight breeze that still prevailed
from the north, and the brigantine
the starboard tack, while the yacht, as she had
been for several days, was on the port tack.
handed the glass to Draytor. who, after
short survey, told Captain Parker to hail. The
Captain neared her. called repeatedly in
stentoran tones. but no answer came aud no
sign Of life appeared board the strange vessel
Finally, when within about three hundred yards
of her, shortened sail, had boat lowered
away and Drayton and /. with the first mate of
the Nomad and two seamen, rowed alongside.
Slowly drifting to leeward, she was barely NOV
ing. aud Jameson, the mate, clam bered aboard |
by the gear of the bowsprit. He threw us a line
and making the boat fast, we quickly folio we'd
him. He and the two men went forward. while
ion way, which we found opep entered the cabin.
It was empty. The men forward likewise |
finding one we all five searched the vessel fore
and aft, and high and low. There was not a liv- |
ing besides ourselves on board. She had evil |
IDENTIFY been deserted. But why2 She was |
perfectly sound, and failed to dis |
cover the least apparent cause for her abandon |
aent Her hold was exceptionally dry, there |
not being much bilge in it as would fill hogs |
head. Her cargo consisted Of casks marked as |
alcohol, all of which were slowed ''in
good order and condition" except one which had |
been started The exterior of the hull above
the water line did not exhibit the slightest trace
Of damage, was there the least evidence on
the interior that the vessel had been repaired In
any way was ut that time in need of any re-
pairs.
We were substantially satisfied from our own
experience of the neigh boring for the pre-
vious ten days, that the brigantlne could not
have encountered any seriously heavy weather
But in addition to this we found the decks, masts
and spars in excellent trim. Indeed. even the
pitch in the waterways was intact, which could
NOT have been the case had any bad weather
been experienced. Moreover, the deck house, !
construc ed of thin planking, and six feet in
height above the deck, was also in perfect condi-
lion. there not being crack In the planklng, |
nor even in tho paint. The seamens chests and |
the clothing which were found board were
perfectly dry, some razors even being entirely
Tree from rust
Among the seamens effects were found num-
Der of articles of not inconsiderable value, GO
ng to show that the men were comparatively
we'll to- do and apparently In great measure
rec from the too common prodigality of their
lass. We also found that the vessel was amply
,rovisioned and that she had plenty of good
water in her casks.
OF her cabin must say that l had idea
there was a merchantmen ahoat so comforta bly,
and attractively equipped in this respect. The
apartment was large. high and well lighted with
four sta.e-rooms opening from 1.-TWO forward
md two aft. On either side along the hunks
we're broad, thick hair cushions of crimson stnff.
Ia the center the table with leaves station
Try, while in the space between the state
rooms forward was harmonium. open, and
lft, in the corresponding space, stood |
sewing machine, also uncovered. On chair
beside the harmonium lay several music books
Ind loose sheets of music, and on the sewing
machine we found pattern In muslin. evidently
childs garment in process of making, besides |
small phial of machine oil, spool of cotton and
thimble, all three in perpendicular position
fact which afforded additional proof that the |
Fessel could not have encountered any stress of
veather-not even enough, indeed, to upset |
hese lightly balanced articles
In the forward port state room, under the berth,
We found an open box con tainipg panes of glass
packed in hay and unbroken. Hanging on the |